'Panda' sequel is a beauty to watch, but short on laughs

Anything goes in animation, but it was a little peculiar in "Kung Fu Panda" to watch Po the panda with his father, Mr. Ping, owner of the most popular noodle shop in their village ... and a goose.
Wow, that is some twisted DNA strand.
In the sequel opening today, Po (voice of Jack Black) asks, "Dad, where did I come from?" and his father (James Hong) nervously acknowledges the pudgy panda "might have been, kind of, adopted."
They couldn't be a sweeter pair, but Po wants to know who he is and where, literally, he came from in China. His quest for answers will lead him into the clutches of the villainous Lord Shen (Gary Oldman), an albino or white peacock with parental issues of his own.
Shen dreams and schemes of the day when China will bow at his feet, and he is working on weapons to make that happen. With feathers that can double as blades, he is a formidable figure.